


Gnomes, Hips, Villains, And Other Fun Things

by jenunjen96816



Category: Blindspot (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-06
Updated: 2017-05-06
Packaged: 2018-09-07 23:45:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8821069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jenunjen96816/pseuds/jenunjen96816
Summary: A short story set in the canonical Blindspot world. Tasha loses a bet to Patterson and that’s where this starts. FYI this starts after David’s death but ignores Patterson/Robert.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I originally posted this a bit ago but somehow I lost all of my stories, so I am going to try to post again.

“Ugh, I feel ridiculous in this”, Tasha huffed as she looked in the mirror. She was wearing a light brown tunic, matching color skirt, a wide black leather belt, high black leather boots and a dark brown cape with a hood, fastened at her neck by a silver broach in the shape of a snake. “Where did you even get this stuff?”

“I got it at a cosplay store”, Patterson said. She came up behind Tasha and smoothed her cape, then lightly twirled a lock of Tasha’s hair before putting her hood up.

“I can't believe there are stores that actually sell this stuff, specifically for people to wear to these silly events”, Tasha said, incredulous.

“Well, there are”, Patterson said matter-of-factly. She turned Tasha around to face her, then looked her over and smiled. “And you don't look ridiculous. You look great.”

Tasha rolled her eyes and looked forlornly over at her duffel bag, wishing she could put her regular clothes back on. “What am I supposed to be again?”  
“You’re a rogue thief”, Patterson said, excitement glimmering in her eyes.

“Wow, okay. A rogue thief”, Tasha rolled her eyes. “And what are you again?”

“I’m a gnome cleric”, Patterson said proudly. She was wearing a long grey dress, grey belt and grey boots. She smiled and then handed Tasha a plastic toy sword. “Your sword, my brave rogue thief”, she presented it with a smile.

“Really?” Tasha asked.

“Yes, really”, Patterson said. “It’s an important part of the outfit.” She smiled as Tasha sighed again, and then grabbed her own accessory, an intricately decorated glass vial about the size of a beer bottle.

“And what is that?” Tasha asked.

“It’s a glass vial. I’m going to fill it with healing potion”, Patterson said.

“Oh my God”, Tasha said, incredulous. Patterson went to the fridge, grabbed a pitcher of ice tea and filled the vial halfway full. She walked back right in front of Tasha and smiled, holding up the vial.

Tasha rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Unbelievable”, she said. “Look, do we really have to go to this? I mean, can’t I just take you out to dinner or somet-“

“Hey”, Patterson said, looking Tasha in the eyes. “You agreed to go with me, remember? That was the bet.”

Tasha stared at Patterson. She wanted to protest, but Patterson was right. Two days ago at work, in the locker room after the morning sparring session, Patterson had told Tasha that she was going to a Dungeons & Dragons cosplay event this coming weekend.

 

_  
“What? Are you kidding me?” Tasha said, laughing in Patterson’s face. “How old are you, Patterson?”_

_“Whatever”, Patterson scowled. “Why, what are you doing that’s so much better?”_

_“I’m training for the Tough Mudder run, so I may go run along some muddy trails, then maybe go salsa dancing at night.”_

_“Getting muddy and grinding hips. Sounds really thrilling”, Patterson said and rolled her eyes._

_“Whatever, nerd alert”, Tasha smirked._

_“Whatever yourself, you hip griding, dancing, muddy…whatever you are”, Patterson said back._

_The two glared playfully at each other until Kurt’s voice boomed through the locker room, ordering everyone into the office. A few hours later the team was working on a case involving tracking down some hackers and deciphering some code. Patterson was having trouble cracking the code, so Tasha volunteered to help, and then bet Patterson that she could crack it first. Patterson had initially resisted taking the bet, since she knew that gambling was a sensitive issue with Tasha, but Tasha had kept pushing. Patterson knew that they needed to crack the code, and that meant that Tasha needed to be at her best, so any motivation to get Tasha to perform at her best to help crack the code would be good, so she took the bet. The stakes: if Tasha won, Patterson would have to take her out to dinner at a restaurant of Tasha’s choosing. If Patterson won, Tasha would have to go with Patterson to the D &D cosplay event. Patterson cracked the code first.  
 _

__  
“I know, I know, fine”, Tasha said. “How long does this thing last, anyway?”

“Until I decide to leave”, Patterson said, smiling.

“Well, can we at least maybe fill up that vial with something stronger than ice tea? Like maybe tequila or something?”

“Tasha-“

“Please, Patterson? I mean, I’m gonna need something if I’m going to make it through this.” She looked at Patterson with her dark brown eyes. “Please… Think of it as like…healing potion…for me.”

Patterson looked at Tasha. She knew that being dragged to this event was painful for her, and even just the anticipation was probably killing her as well. Truth be told, she was kind of enjoying playfully tormenting Tasha, especially since Tasha had laughed at her at the mention of the event. But, she didn’t want Tasha to suffer entirely through it. In fact, if she was honest with herself, she wanted Tasha to actually end up enjoying it, and maybe in the future Tasha would want to go to another one, together, with her. She decided to throw Tasha a bone. “Fine”, she said. She walked over to a cabinet and opened it up. “I’m not a big drinker so I don’t have a large selection of alcohol, and sorry – no tequila, but do I have bourbon and vodka.”

“Bourbon, please”, Tasha said, and exhaled a sigh of relief.

   
********

   
The taxi dropped them off at the event and Tasha looked around. The event took up an entire city park, one block by one block. Several hundred people in costumes were milling about. Tents and outdoor exhibits like smithing that Tasha assumed were supposed to represent the fantasy land were set up. Horse drawn carriages slowly cruised the park. Tasha sighed, and Patterson looked over at her and smiled.

“Ready?” Patterson asked, nudging Tasha with her shoulder.

“Oh boy”, Tasha said as she looked around. Then she looked down at her sword and then her outfit, then looked at Patterson. “I feel utterly ridiculous”, she said.

“Like I said before, you look great”, Patterson said. She stared at Tasha for a moment and then moved a bit closer to her and in a faux accent said, “The most beautiful rogue thief in all the land.”

At that Tasha laughed slightly. She had slammed some of the bourbon in the taxi ride over and was still feeling self-conscious but had loosened up a bit. She looked back at Patterson and said, “Thank you. And I guess you look pretty good too, for a dwarf.”

“A gnome cleric, my beautiful rogue”, Patterson came back playfully. Tasha smiled, and then Patterson grabbed her lightly by the arm. “C’mon, let’s go.” Tasha resisted a bit so Patterson pulled a bit harder. “C’mon, my beautiful Rogue”, she said. She felt Tasha give in and follow her, and in the process her hand slipped down Tasha’s arm and locked with Tasha’s fingers. The two of them began to stroll through the event, Patterson looking around with delight, Tasha self-conscious but taking some comfort in the whiskey she had drank, and, somewhat to her surprise, Patterson’s hand locked with her own.

   
********  
 

“So, what did you think?” Patterson asked. “Honestly.” She and Tasha were back at Patterson’s apartment.

“Uh, it was, um…”

“Pretty fun, right? Or funner than you thought it would be? Or something like that?” Patterson finished for Tasha.

Tasha stared at Patterson. To be honest, it actually hadn’t been that bad. The people had been really friendly, the food had been decent, and some of the events had been fun, like the archery range and the smithing class. “Yeah, it was not that bad”, she said in an admitting tone.

“See? I told you”, Patterson said, as she started to remover her outfit.

“Okay, don’t be smug”, Tasha said, as she started to remove her outfit as well.

Patterson came over to Tasha. “I’m sorry”, she said smiling. “I didn’t mean to come off like that. Look, I really…I really just wanted you to enjoy it, and I’m just, I don’t know…kind of excited that you did”, she said with a warm smile.

Tasha smiled back and said, “Yeah. I did kind of enjoy it. Plus, the healing portion helped”, she said. She looked at Patterson and then wobbled a bit.

“Whoa”, Patterson said, putting her arms on Tasha’s to steady her. “You alright?”

“Yeah”, Tasha said. “Just a little…unsteady”, she said and then smiled. Tasha had drank all of the whiskey in the vial and was feeling pretty tipsy.

“I gotcha”, Patterson said, holding onto Tasha’s arms. She stared at Tasha for a moment and then said, “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed the event…my beautiful rogue thief.” At that Tasha smiled, and grabbed Patterson’s arms in return. The two of them stood there, half dressed, staring at each other, and then Tasha’s eyes started to drunkenly wander, and Patterson cleared her throat. “Well, um, since you’re kind of drunk, do you want to stay the night? I mean, I have a couch, or you can take the bed and I can take the couch…”

“Bed”, Tasha said. She removed the rest of her outfit, down to her bra and underwear, and then climbed into Patterson’s bed.

“Okay…I’ll take the couch”, Patterson said, removing the rest of her outfit.

“No”, Tasha said. “It’s your bed…share it with me”, she said, reaching over and grabbing Patterson’s arm.

“Tasha”, Patterson, now also in just her bra and underwear, said, as Tasha pulled her onto the bed.

“I wanna sleep with my dwarf”, Tasha said, then rolled over onto her side and passed out.

"I'm not a dwarf. I'm a-“ Patterson started, then stopped when she realized Tasha was out. She stared at her for a moment and then smiled slightly and smoothed Tasha’s hair out of her face. She pulled back the sheets and tucked Tasha in, then grabbed a t-shirt from her dresser, turned out the lights and climbed into bed with Tasha. She stared at Tasha in the near darkness and then curled up next to her, running her fingers through Tasha’s hair. There was something, she thought to herself. Something about her, and maybe even something between them. She had been through a lot with David’s death, but after her abduction in the antique shop and subsequent rescue, she had told herself that it was time to move on. True, she was hesitant to get involved with someone again, since it was her job that had put David in danger in the first place, but then again, David wasn’t a federal agent who knew how to protect himself. Tasha was different. She didn’t need to worry about her job being a danger to Tasha. In fact, Tasha was the field agent out of the two of them. She knew Tasha could take care of herself. And in the past month or so she had found herself thinking about the dark-haired agent more and more. Tasha liked computers, being second only to Patterson in technical knowledge on the team. She was driven, a trait that Patterson understood. She was fearless, a trait Patterson admired. And yes, she was beautiful. Patterson thought about all of these things as she continued to caress Tasha’s hair for another moment, and then in a soft whisper said, “I’m a gnome cleric, my beautiful rogue thief.”


	2. Chapter 2

A slight pulsing in her right temple woke Tasha up. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted. She was in a brightly lit room that was not her own bedroom. She opened her eyes a bit further and stared at the ceiling as the world started to come into focus. She was in Patterson’s apartment. In Patterson’s bed. Yesterday. The costumes. D&D event. Whiskey. She exhaled slowly and sat up, and then realized she was in just her bra and underwear. She looked around for her clothes and spotted her duffel bag. She put her hand to her head, exhaled one last time, and was about to get out of bed, when she head Patterson come into the bedroom. She was dressed in a t-shirt and her underwear, and holding a mug of coffee.

“Good morning, my sleepy rogue thief”, Patterson said, cheerfully. She smiled and then handed Tasha the mug. “Black with sugar, right?” she asked. Patterson had gotten Tasha coffee before at the office and, with her near-photographic memory, had memorized Tasha’s preferences.

“Yeah, thank you”, Tasha said. She smiled weakly and took the mug, then took a sip.

“How did you sleep?” Patterson asked as she sat on the bed next to Tasha.

“I think okay, but my head hurts”, Tasha responded.

Patterson smiled. “Well, you did drink most – no wait, all – of the healing potion yesterday”, she said.

“I know, I know”, Tasha said. “Well, I needed something to get me through the event-“

“The event that you actually ended up having a good time at, yes?” Patterson said.

Tasha stared at her and then smiled back. “Yes.”

“Good. Now, I’m going to make us breakfast, so right now you just sit here and drink that magical healing potion coffee, and I’ll come get you when breakfast is ready”, Patterson said with a big smile.

“Thanks, but I kind of just want to go home. And why are you so chipper today?”

“Well I didn’t have any healing potion yesterday and plus, we have fun things to do today”, Patterson said, getting off the bed.

“Wait, what?” Tasha asked, putting down her coffee mug on the nightstand next to the bed. “What fun things? What are you talking about?”

“Well, you said that you wanted to go train and run muddy trails today, right?”

“Well, yeah, I did mention that a few days ago, but that was before I ended up drinking like eight ounces of whiskey. I can’t move today.”

“Well, that’s what coffee’s for. Plus, some exercise will help you recover.”

“Look, I don’t know, I kind of just want to go home-“

“No”, Patterson said. She stared at Tasha for a moment and then climbed on top of her so she was on all fours, somewhat straddling Tasha, kneeling over her. “Look, you came with me yesterday to my event. So now today, I’m going to go with you to do your things.”

“Wait, what?” Tasha said again. “What things?”

“Your things. You know, mud running and salsa dancing.”

“Wait wait wait”, Tasha said, waving her hand. “You won a bet. That’s why I went to your thing.”

“I know, but you went, and that’s what matters. And, despite yourself, you ended up having a good time”, Patterson said. “So, despite my misgivings about salsa dancing and mud running, I have decided to try your things today.” She stared at Tasha and then smiled. “We can make it a Tasha and Patterson weekend.”

Tasha stared at Patterson. She really did want to just go home and rest the day away, but Patterson mentioning that she wanted to try the things that Tasha enjoyed made her perk up. “Okay.”

“Okay? You sure?” Patterson said with a smile and moved her face closer to Tasha’s.

“Yeah, okay.” Tasha said with a slight smile and then looked back into Patterson’s eyes. Less than a foot and their lips would meet.

Patterson stared at Tasha for another moment and then sat back up. “Awesome!” she said and got off the bed. She ran her hand along Tasha’s leg under the covers and then headed out into the kitchen.

“Hey, Patterson”, Tasha called as Patterson was near the door.

“Yeah?”

“Last night…did we…you know…”

“Did we sleep together?” Patterson finished with a smile.

“Yeah, I mean no, I mean…” Tasha trailed off.

“Yeah we did. We slept together”, Patterson said, watching Tasha's eyes fly open, and then she then smiled and continued, “in the same bed.”

Tasha smiled back and sighed, relieved. “And did things get…you know…?”

“Weird? Well, you pulled me onto the bed and then pretty much passed out like right away, so no, things did not get weird”, Patterson answered. “At least not yet”, she said, then smiled again and walked out the door. Tasha stared for a moment, then smiled, picked up her mug and took another sip of coffee.

 

********

 

“C’mon, Patterson!” Tasha yelled back. They were running along a section of muddy bank near the Hudson River. They had been running for about an hour.

“I’m coming!” Patterson yelled back, breathing heavy. After breakfast she had packed a bag with workout clothes and an evening outfit, and then they she and Tasha had stopped by Tasha’s place so Tasha could change. Then they had started out for the trail. When they had started running Patterson had been holding her ground, but Tasha was in better shape, and even with a hangover this morning, the running had seemed to clear Tasha up, and now she was in the lead, Patterson behind her straining to keep up.

Tasha scrambled up an embankment and then paused at the top to wait for Patterson. Patterson started scrambling up and almost made it to the top but then started to slip in the mud and fall back down. “Patterson!” she yelled. She reached out her hand and grabbed Patterson’s arm.

“Tasha, I’m slipping!”, Patterson yelled, her feet sliding down the muddy slope.

“I gotcha!” Tasha yelled. “Grab my arm with your other hand!” She felt Patterson’s other hand grab her arm, and then with a mighty effort she heaved Patterson up onto the top of the embankment. She ended up on her back, Patterson partially on top of her.

“Oh my God”, Patterson gasped.

“You okay?” Tasha asked. She smoothed Patterson’s hair out of her face and looked into her eyes.

“Yeah”, I think so”, Patterson said, still breathing heavy. She stared back at Tasha for a moment and then said, “Thanks for, you know…saving me.”

“I would never let my cute little gnome cleric go”, Tasha said back.

“Gnome cleri- wait, you remembered?” Patterson asked, surprised.

“Yes, Patterson. I remembered. I know, you’re not a dwarf.” Patterson smiled at Tasha through heavy breathing, and Tasha returned the smile. Lately she had found herself thinking more and more about Patterson. She was the smartest person that Tasha had ever met. Not to mention the sweetest person she had ever met. It was nice, she thought, to have someone on the team who wasn’t always yelling or scowling at everyone. I know it's a serious job, Tasha thought, but we can't all carry the weight of the world on our shoulders. Patterson's smiles were a breath of fresh air, especially compared to Weller's intense demeanor. Lately Tasha had found herself falling for Patterson’s personality, and her smarts. And her passion, like when she got excited about finding a clue in a tattoo. It was endearing, and it made Tasha smile inside when she watched Patterson brief the team. And she’s beautiful, Tasha thought, with her wavy blond hair and captivating eyes. It was for all of these reasons that she had taken the bet with Patterson. She knew she would probably lose. And she was pretty sure that she probably wouldn’t enjoy the D&D event, but maybe that didn’t matter. Maybe having a reason to just be around Patterson was what mattered. And I haven’t had much in the way of relationships, Tasha thought. And nothing since my partner died five years ago. But maybe it was time. Maybe it was time to move on. She had just settled her debt and was moving beyond that. Maybe she was ready to move on in other ways as well. She stared at Patterson for another minute, who was still breathing hard, and asked, “So, are you ready to continue?”

Patterson stared back at Tasha for a moment and then said, “I don’t know. Think I’m done for the day. I think I need a healing potion of my own right now. Like a glass of wine.”

 

********

 

“I feel ridiculous in this”, Patterson said.

After the muddy run they had gone back to Tasha’s to clean up and then had napped together in Tasha’s bed before getting up in the late evening. They had spent a couple hours getting ready and then Patterson had taken Tasha out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, to thank her for “saving” her on the muddy run. Now, she and Tasha were walking towards the salsa club.

Tasha looked over at Patterson and then stopped walking. She took Patterson’s hand and faced her and looked her in the eye. “You look…beautiful”, Tasha said.

Patterson looked back at Tasha and then smiled shyly. “Thanks. I just…never wear outfits like this.” Patterson was wearing a red salsa dress with an exposed back, a gold sash belt and gold heels.

“Well, you should more often, because you look amazing”, Tasha said

“No. I mean, thank you, but um, no…you…look…amazing”, Patterson stuttered out, squeezing Tasha’s hand. Tasha was wearing a black cocktail dress, black leather belt and high heeled black boots.

“Why thank you, my beautiful dancing partner”, Tasha said. She stared at Patterson for a moment and then said, “Shall we?”

Patterson exhaled and then smiled. “Yeah, we shall”, she said, and then let Tasha lead her by the hand to the club entrance. There was a line at the door, but Tasha greeted the doorman by name and he opened the door for them.

“Nice work avoiding the line”, Patterson said as they entered the club. The dance floor was already pretty full. Music pulsed from the surround sound speakers.

“I know the door guy”, Tasha said.

“Is that so?” Patterson said. She paused for a moment and then pried a bit. “Ex-boyfriend?” She realized that she really didn’t know anything about Tasha’s romantic life, other than she surmised that Tasha was currently single.

“No, we’ve just become friendly since I started coming here”, Tasha said. She smiled at Patterson and then held out her hand. “C’mon – let’s go dance”, she said, then took Patterson’s hand and led her onto the dance floor.

“I have no idea what I’m doing”, Patterson said as Tasha turned to face her.

“Look, it’s simple”, Tasha said, taking Patterson’s hands. “Just follow me.” She took three steps forward, exaggerating her hip movements with each step. “Now you try it, step forward three steps”, she said. Patterson stepped forward and Tasha stepped backwards. “Exaggerate your hips”, Tasha said.

“I feel kind of silly”, Patterson said as she sashayed her hips.

“Sillier than wearing a gnome cleric costume and carrying a vial of healing potion?” Tasha asked, as she guided Patterson back three steps.

Patterson smiled. “I guess not”, she said, taking three steps forward, swaying her hips to the music. “But I could use a healing potion, if you know what I mean.”

Tasha smiled back and then spun Patterson around. She put her hands on Patterson’s hips and moved in close to Patterson’s back. She felt Patterson's hands cover hers. She nuzzled her face into Patterson’s neck and breathed in her ear. “Tequila okay?”

“Yeah, that’s fine”, Patterson said. She wasn’t really a big Tequila drinker but she knew that Tasha liked tequila, so tequila it would be. “But we can wait", she said. A slow salsa tune had come on. Patterson swayed for a moment, feeling Tasha behind her, and she smiled. It felt good to have Tasha close. She closed her eyes and pulled at Tasha's hands, wrapping them around her own waist.

“Okay”, Tasha said back into Patterson’s ear, and Patterson’s skin made goosebumps as Tasha’s breath hit her neck. “You let me know when you’re ready for your healing potion”, she said, and Patterson laughed lightly. “By the way, have I told you yet that you look amazing?” Tasha asked.

“Yeah, like a few minutes ago”, Patterson said and giggled.

“And you smell good too”, Tasha said, nuzzling back into Patterson’s neck, and Patterson giggled again.

 

********

 

“Ahhhh!” Patterson squealed and smiled as Tasha spun her. There had been dancing, then tequila, then more dancing, then more tequila, and then more dancing. Now they were back at Tasha’s apartment, still dancing. Tasha had put on some slow salsa music.

“Here, wait – try it again”, Tasha said, as she spun Patterson again. They ended up facing each other, hands on each others' hips, moving close.

“Wait – what’s that one thing we were trying to do at the club?” Patterson asked.

“Here – like this”, Tasha said. She put her arm around Patterson’s back and then tilted her back. Patterson squealed, and Tasha held her there for a moment, bent over her, and then pulled her back up.

“Okay, one more time”, Patterson said, “but backwards.”

“Okay”, Tasha said. She spun Patterson around and ended up behind Patterson, holding her close. “One, two, three!” Tasha said. She bent Patterson back, then bent over her. She held her there for a moment and then went to pull her back up, but Patterson somehow slipped a bit and the two them went down onto Tasha’s floor, laughing, Patterson on her back on the floor facing up, Tasha on top of her.

“Oh my God”, Tasha exclaimed, “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay”, Patterson said, laughing. “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” Tasha asked. Her hand went to smoothed Patterson’s hair out of her face.

“Yeah, I’m not hurt”, Patterson confirmed. She smiled to show Tasha she was fine. “I’m just glad we didn’t try that at the club, though. That would have been embarrassing.”

Tasha smiled at Patterson and then looked at her. “I would never let you go”, she said. “At least not out there”, she motioned her head towards the window, then said, “my beautiful little gnome cleric.”

Patterson stared at Tasha. They were close. Less than six inches and their lips would meet. She stared at Tasha for another moment and then smiled back. Her hand reached up to touch Tasha’s hair, which was hanging down, framing her face. “And how about in here?”

Tasha stared at Patterson for a moment and then slowly lowered her head, and as she did, Patterson raised her head, and they met in the middle, lips pressing together.


	3. Chapter 3

A slight shift in motion woke Patterson from her sleep. She laid there for a moment with her eyes closed, reveling in her current comfortable state, then tried to get her bearings. She opened her eyes slowly and then smiled at the first sight of the day being the chiseled jawline of Tasha’s beautiful face. She was at Tasha’s apartment. In Tasha’s bed. With Tasha. She was on her stomach, her face nuzzled into Tasha’s neck, her arm over Tasha’s torso. Tasha was on her back, one arm loosely over Patterson’s arm, the other arm just above Patterson’s head, fingers loosely intertwined in Patterson’s hair. Last night they had ended up on the floor, kissing, then had moved to Tasha’s bed. The dresses had come off, but somehow their underwear had stayed on. A brief conversation had come up about not diving in all the way on the first night together, and so they had spent most of the night rolling around on Tasha’s bed, kissing, smiling, laughing. Patterson continued to lay still, listening to Tasha’s rhythmic breathing. Then she tilted her head up a bit and planted the gentlest kiss on Tasha’s cheek. Tasha stirred, and then her eyes fluttered open.

“Good morning, sleepy head”, Patterson whispered with a smile.

Tasha yawned, then turned her head slightly and smiled. “Good morning, you.”

“Sleep well?” Patterson asked.

“Yeah. Really well”, Tasha said. "You're a wonderful cuddle buddy." She flashed a slight smile. “You?”

Patterson raised her head and smiled at the compliment, nodded slightly, and then settled back down into the crook of Tasha’s neck. She laid there for a moment, her hand drawing circles on Tasha’s bare stomach, making Tasha giggle. Patterson smiled in return, and then started, “So, um…last night-“

“I had a lot of fun”, Tasha interrupted, tilting her head down to face Patterson.

Patterson stared at Tasha for a moment and then said, “Yeah. Me too.”

“And it was the right move, you know? Not, um…not going...all the way...”

“Yeah, totally”, Patterson said, nodding.

Tasha cupped Patterson’s cheek and smiled, then planted a tender kiss on Patterson’s lips. “Hi”, she breathed out.

“Hi”, Patterson breathed back, then laid her head down onto Tasha’s chest. It had been the right move last night, not moving too fast, she thought.

“So, um…”, Tasha began.

“Yeah, I guess we should maybe talk”, Patterson said.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“Wait, what time is it?” Patterson asked, then looked over at the clock on Tasha’s bed stand. “Oh my God – I…er, we…we should get going. It’s almost eight.”

“Oh no”, Tasha groaned. They were late. Talking would have to wait, which was okay with her. She needed a bit of time to process, but she actually would have taken a bit of talking if it had meant being able to stay in bed a bit longer with Patterson and wake up slow. She smiled and said, “And here I wanted to make you breakfast, even though I’m not really the greatest cook.”

Patterson laughed lightly. “It’s okay. You can take me out sometime.”

“Deal”, Tasha said. She smiled and kissed Patterson again, then said, “Well, do you want to shower here? I mean, that might save a bit of ti-“ She was about to say “time” when both Patterson’s phone and Tasha’s phone went off.

Patterson looked at Tasha. That can’t be good, she thought, both phones going off at the same time. “Uh oh”, she said, then looked at her phone. It was a text from Weller.

WELLER: Get in office ASAP

Tasha looked at her phone and read out loud. “Get in office ASAP, from Weller.”

“Yep, I got it too”, Patterson said. She sat up quick, then looked around.

“Do you have a change of clothes for the office?” Tasha asked, sitting up as well.

“Yeah, I packed one just in case”, Patterson said.

Tasha smiled slyly at Patterson. “Well, aren’t you confident”, she jabbed.

Patterson smiled back, almost embarrassed. “No, it wasn’t like that. I just, you know…naturally plan ahead.” She gazed shyly at Tasha, then looked around, as if trying to figure out what to do next.

“What is it?” Tasha asked.

Patterson sighed. “We gotta move, but I could really use a shower”, she said.

“I said you can take one here”, Tasha said with a slight smile, registering that Patterson was flustered but noticing how adorable she looked when a bit panicked.

“But we need to get in the office, like now.”

“Then you better make it quick”, Tasha said lightly with a smile. Patterson smiled back and shook her head, amused but a bit flustered, and Tasha thought for a moment, then said, “Okay, um… we can take one together.” Patterson looked at her, and Tasha said, “I need a shower too, and we don’t have much time, so we need to move.” She looked at Patterson for another moment and then kissed her again. “C’mon, Patterson”, she said, getting off of the bed and taking Patterson’s hands.

Patterson stared at her for a moment and then allowed Tasha to pull her off the bed and towards the shower.  
 

********  
 

“Where the hell have you two been?” Weller barked. “I hit you like an hour ago.”

After getting out of bed Tasha and Patterson had fumbled through a quick shower together, both of them crammed inside the shower stall in Tasha’s bathroom. It was not the shower either of them had hoped to take for a first shower together, jumping in the water before it warmed up, hurrying through, bumping into each other. At one point Patterson was shampooing her hair and had accidentally nailed Tasha in the forehead with an elbow. Tasha had been dispensing shampoo into her hands and had dropped the bottle mid-pour onto her foot and cursed. Patterson, shampoo in her eyes, had apologizing and went to pick up the bottle but had nailed Tasha again with a head-butt on the way down. Tasha had cursing again, and Patterson had cooed another apology, then kissed Tasha’s forehead and then her lips. Tasha, not seriously hurt and laughing slightly at the ridiculousness of the whole situation, had returned the kiss, but then before it got too heated, they had gotten out of the shower, quickly dried off and had gotten dressed, applying minimal makeup, just enough to get away with. Then they had hopped in Tasha’s car. On the way over they had argued about whether or not they should enter together, Patterson worried about someone putting something together, but Tasha had said the team would be too distracted to notice, so they had run into the office together, both looking a bit disheveled but about as put together as possible, given the tight timing.

“Sorry”, Patterson said. “We were, um-“

“You guys alright?” Reade asked. “You look like you just rolled out of bed, both of you.”

“Well that was nice, Reade”, Jane said sarcastically.

“Hey, just sayin-“

“What’s going on?” Tasha interrupted, directing attention off of where they had been or what they had been doing and onto the reason they had been called in so hurriedly.

Weller glared at both Tasha and Patterson for a moment and then said, “While you two were running late thing morning, Reade put together something on another tattoo.”

“Wait - Reade did?” Tasha asked, surprised.

“Yeah”, Reade said, proudly. “It’s amazing what can happen when you show up for work.”

“Alright, look”, Weller said and punched up the screen. An attractive, fair skinned woman with black hair appeared. “This is Ashley Powell. She's Scottish, been in the states for a while, and is one of the most prolific arms dealers on the eastern seaboard. We think there’s a deal about to go down between her and this woman.” Weller pulled up another image, this one of another attractive woman with dirty blonde hair, fierce green eyes, and an intense expression. “This is Liz Wells, an Irish national. We don’t have much on her, but Homeland sent over some intel. We think she served in the Irish Rangers. It’s like the Irish Army Special Forces. According to the intel, Wells’ father was in the IRA. Apparently she inherited the separation ideology. She's also got a mean streak a mile wide, and she hates the English and pretty much anyone who doesn’t support separatist ideology, even if they’re Irish. Anyway, we think Wells currently serves as a high level operative in a radical separatist group called Saoirse, which is Gaelic for ‘Victory’. Like the IRA, Saoirse's goal is for Northern Ireland to be an independent country, free from English rule.”

“Not much is known about Saoirse, but apparently they have connections all over the east coast”, Jane chimed in.

“Now, there’s a small tattoo of an Irish lyre on Jane’s lower back. In one of the clovers is a smaller tattoo of a Scottish lion. And engraved in the backbone of the lyre are a series of numbers”, Reade said.

“We decoded it based off of a Fibonacci sequence”, Weller said. “It translates to today’s date, 11am.”

“There’s a bar over in Tribeca called Molly’s. Owned by Irish ex-pats. Symbol on the door sign is a lyre", Reade said.

"Homeland says the Wells and Powell families go back. Powell’s father fought in a Scottish resistance force alongside Wells’ father, back when Wells’ father was in the IRA. Seems like working together is family tradition for these two”, Weller said. “Homeland says they’ve been expecting some kind of action from Wells soon. She’s been making moves all around the area. There’s a summit at the UN tomorrow, focusing on peace between Northern Ireland, England and mainland Ireland. Both English and Irish diplomats will be in attendance. Now, Saoirse will never consider peace to be made until England grants Northern Ireland its independence, and that may or may not ever happen. If Wells was to attack, this would be an ideal scenario, with all of these political leaders together in one place. My guess is that Powell is going to supply Wells with arms for the attack, and that the arms deal goes down today at Molly’s.”

“So we’re going in hot”, Tasha said.

“No”, Weller said. “If we’re wrong, and there’s no deal, or if they’re not there, then we risk spooking both Wells and Powell. Now, if Wells is there but Powell isn’t, then we might still stop the attack, since Powell is just the dealer, but if Powell is there but Wells is not, Wells could still secure weapons before tomorrow and carry out an attack. I want to nail them both, just to be sure we stop anything from happening.”

“Can we stake it out from the outside?” Patterson asked. “I can see if there are any street cams in the area.”

“There’s not enough time”, Weller said. “We need to get a sit rep as quick as possible.”

“So we need to go in undercover”, Jane said.

“Yeah, but there’s just one problem”, Reade said. “Molly’s is a lesbian bar.”

“What?” Tasha asked.

“Yeah”, Weller confirmed. “Powell and Wells are both lesbians, which is probably in part why they picked Molly’s. So that means Reade and I can’t enter without arousing suspicion.” He looked Tasha, Patterson and Jane. “You three will have to go in alone.”

“Wait”, Tasha said, suddenly worried. “Can’t Jane and I just go? Does Patterson need to be there?”

“Tash!” Patterson said sharply.

“What?” Tasha said. “It may not be safe, especially if we won’t have the whole team there.”

“I can handle myself”, Patterson said, righteously. Reade turned and looked at her, and then at Tasha.

“Alright, stop”, Weller said to Patterson and Tasha. “Look, I want all three of you there”, Weller said to the three women. “We need as many eyes as possible on site.” Weller paused and then said, “But eyes only. Under no circumstances are you three to engage without calling for backup. Reade and I will be right there out on the street. If you see something, holler, and we’ll come right in. Are we clear on that?”

Everyone nodded.

“Alright, let’s move”, Weller said, and the team headed for the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, as I am developing this story I need a bit of political backdrop. I'm not exactly sure on all of the facts, but the backdrop is just there to set context and drive the story. Apologies in advance for any falsities.

Tasha and Patterson were in the back seat, sitting next to each other, close. Reade was on the far right. Kurt and Jane were in front talking. Tasha looked over at Patterson. She could tell something was wrong, and she was pretty sure she knew what, but she wanted to ask anyway. She leaned in and asked, “Hey – you okay?”

“I’m fine”, Patterson said, not leaning in or looking over.

“Patterson…”, Tasha said, letting it hang.

Patterson was silent for a moment and then huffed. “What was that all about?” she asked quietly, leaning in a bit.

“What?”

“Back there, in the office”, Patterson said.

“What are you talking about?” Tasha asked, even though she was sure she knew.

“You sounded like you didn’t want me to come.”

Tasha leaned back a bit. “Patterson, it could be dangerous.”

“I said I can handle myself”, Patterson huffed again and looked away. Reade looked over.

“But you’re not a field agent. I mean, you’re the best at what you do, but field work is different”, Tasha said. Patterson looked at her, and Tasha continued. “I mean, like the time you were…”

“Were what?” Patterson asked, staring at Tasha with her blue eyes.

Tasha stared back, momentarily silent. She thought about the time Patterson had been abducted in the antique store and how worried she had been. For a moment she considered continuing but decided to hold her tongue. “Nevermind. Look, like I said, it’s just that we won't be able to have the full team in there.”

“And you don’t want the responsibility of having to babysit me, is that it?”

“Patterson-“

“I’ll be fine”, Patterson said, resolutely. She was silent for a moment, staring straight ahead and then looked over again and leaned in a bit. “I mean, you’ll be there, right?” She stared at Tasha.

Tasha stared back for a moment and then said, “Yes, of course, I will be there.”

“Then I will be fine”, Patterson said again, but her voice softening. She cracked a small smile and gently bumped her knee against Tasha’s. Tasha smiled back a small smile, and Patterson, in a lower voice said, “as long as I have my brave little rogue thief to protect me.” Tasha, despite her worry, giggled slightly, and Reade looked over again and furrowed his brow.

Fifteen minutes later they parked half a block up the street from Molly’s.

“Okay, remember – surveillance only", Weller said. "You guys won’t have weapons, in case someone for some reason decides to search you. Just get in there, get a sit rep, and come out. If Liz and Powell are both there, then you guys come back out, get your guns, and we'll all head back in there. Now, Patterson has a wire in the compact mirror in her purse, so Reade and I will be able to monitor you guys by audio. If something happens, you shout, and we’ll come running. Remember – do NOT engage without us. Is that clear?” Everyone nodded, and the three women exited the vehicle.

“So, what’s our cover story?” Patterson asked as they walked towards the bar.

“Yeah, it’s kind of early for a drink”, Jane said. “Plus, this place isn’t exactly in bar central. Like, how did we even end up here?”

“We like to explore off the beaten path”, Tasha said. “Plus, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right? Now”, she said to Jane and Tasha as they approached the front door to Molly’s, “pretend I’m telling a funny story. Jane – you laugh, and Patterson – you say, ‘No way!’, or something like that”, she said, then pushed open the door. Jane laughed and Patterson said, “Oh my gosh, no way!”.

“I’m serious! That really did happen!” Tasha said with mock exaggeration, as the three women entered the bar, Jane laughing and Patterson smiling. The bar was empty except for a middle aged woman behind the bar. She looked up as the three women walked in.

“Bar’s closed, ladies”, the woman said.

Tasha looked at her, shock on her face. “Oh, I’m sorry. The door was open-“

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean the bar’s open."

“Oh, okay, we were just looking for a place to get some lunch”, Patterson said. “Do you know of any places arou-“

“Colleen – they can stay”, a voice said. Tasha, Jane and Patterson looked over and froze. Sitting at a table near the back corner were Ashley Powell and Liz Wells. 

“Oh”, Patterson said, still kind of frozen. “No, it’s okay, we can go. We understand you guys are closed. We’re just looking for a place to get something to eat.”

“How about a drink instead?” Liz said, staring right at Patterson.

“Well, um…” Patterson began, looking around.

“Hey, it’s five o’clock somewhere, right? As you Americans are so fond of saying”, Liz said, then smiled and got up and started walking towards them, continuing to look right at Patterson. Tasha stared at Liz. That was my line you just took, and that’s my…I don’t know…the girl that I like, that you’re eyeballing.

Patterson looked at Liz, then looked at Tasha and Jane.

“She’s right”, Jane said, forcing a smile, and elbowing Tasha, who also forced a smile. “Plus, it’s not like we have anything else to do today.”

“There, see?” Liz said. She reached the group and then reached out and took Patterson by the arm, winking at Tasha as she did. Tasha's gut lurched, and Patterson looked at Jane and Tasha, and then allowed herself to be escorted towards the bar. “You guys can saddle up over there”, Liz said to Jane and Tasha, nodding with her head towards a couple of stools at the bar. “Colleen – pour these two a drink, on me.”

“Hey, we have work to do”, Powell said loudly towards Liz.

“It can wait for a bit”, Liz said back. Powell started to get up and protest, but Liz said, “Hey – I said it’s okay. I’m the customer, remember?” She smiled at Powell, and Powell scowled. She didn’t want to be here any longer than she had to be, and especially not to just wait for Liz to hook up with some blonde, albeit a cute blonde. Plus, something was a bit off here, she thought. This isn’t the kind of place that gets many random patrons, especially at 11am. She sat back down and eyed the three newcomers.

Liz and Patterson reached the bar. Liz turned towards Patterson and moved her hand onto Patterson’s hip, and Patterson’s breath hitched. “So, what brings you and your friends to the bar?”

Patterson smiled nervously and said, “Um, we, um…just heard about it and, uh…wanted to check out something off the beaten path.”

Liz stared at Patterson for a moment. “You seem nervous”, she said, looking right at Patterson with her intense eyes.

“What? No, I’m not”, Patterson said, as resolutely as she could. She glanced over at Tasha and Jane and then said, “I mean, it’s just that, um…“

Liz stared at Patterson for a moment, then glanced over at Tasha, and then back at Patterson. "Ahhhhh, I see", she said, nodding her head. "I thought so", she continued, and she then moved her hand from Patterson’s hip and solidly gripped Patterson’s arm. Patterson squirmed a bit but didn't pull away. "You’re hiding something, aren’t you? I could tell when you guys walked in.” Patterson froze, momentarily thinking they were busted, and then Liz flashed a smile. “Just ‘friends’, is it?” Liz said, glancing again right at Tasha.

Patterson looked over at Tasha again and then looked back at Liz, and then it hit her: Liz thinks Tasha and I are together, she thought.

Liz stared at Tasha for a moment and then turned her gaze back to Patterson and moved closer. “Well, you can do better than her”, she said, nodding her head in Tasha’s direction. She kept her hand on Patterson’s arm and circled her other arm behind Patterson’s back, pulling Patterson in closer.

Tasha started to move, but Jane touched her arm. Powell was watching them closely. “Easy”, Jane said, smiling for show since Powell was watching. She could tell that Tasha was getting upset, and she wasn’t exactly sure why, but she had picked up that something was going on between her and Patterson. She had noticed the way they had come in to the office together, then their minor spat right before they left about Patterson going into the field, and then their conversation in the car ride over. “Look, we got what we needed to know, which is that both Powell and Wells are here. Now, I’ll just go over there, politely grab Patterson, and we’ll leave. As soon as we’re outside we can holler at Weller and Rea-.”

But Tasha had already started to move. She walked up to Liz and Patterson and cut right in between them, facing Liz. “Hey”, she snapped at Liz. “What are you doing?”

“Whoa, easy lass”, Liz said, letting go of Patterson and staring Tasha down.

“What’s your problem?” Tasha said.

Liz smirked. “Is that any way to talk to someone who’s buying you a drink?”

“Leave her alone”, Tasha said.

Jane walked up. “Guys, let’s go”, she said to Patterson and Tasha.

“Wait!” Powell shouted and got up. She walked over and looked at Jane, Tasha and Patterson. She stared at them for a moment and then said, “Who are you?”

“What?” Patterson asked innocently.

“I said, who are you?” Powell was looking back and forth between Jane, Tasha and Patterson, and then looked at Liz. “Does this look like three tarts who just wandered in off the street?”

Liz didn’t answer, still busy staring Tasha down. Tasha, still focused on Liz, and unable to control herself, said, “Don’t ever touch her again.”

“Or you’re gonna do what?” Liz asked, cocking her head.

“Hey, let’s go”, Jane said again, more forcefully, making another attempt to get Tasha and Patterson out of the bar. "Look, we don't want any trouble", she said to Liz and Powell, then reached out and took one friend in each hand. Patterson moved but Tasha stayed still, her eyes fixed on Liz.

“No, don’t fuckin’ move”, Powell warned. She glanced at Colleen behind the bar, who was appraising the situation with close attention, then turned back towards the group. “Who are you people?” she asked again. “Why are you here?”

“Okay, look, we’re going to go”, Patterson said calmly, putting her hands up. “We’re very sorry to have bothered you today.” She took a step backwards towards the door with Jane, but Liz reached out grabbed her arm forcefully.

“Owwww!” Patterson yelped, pulling her arm away.

“Hey! I told you not to touch her”, Tasha seethed, getting right in Liz’s face.

“For the last time, who the fuck are you people?” Powell said viciously.

Liz stared right at Tasha, then glanced at Patterson, whose arm was red from Liz's grip. It looked like it might not be possible to keep the blonde from leaving, but she wasn't done taunting the Latina. She turned back to Tasha. “I told her she could do better”, she said with a smirk.

“What did you just say?” Tasha spat out.

Powell stared at Jane, Tasha and Patterson for another moment and then said, “Colleen”, and snapped her fingers. Colleen nodded and then headed towards the back of the bar.

“That can’t be good”, Jane said, registering that something bad might happen really soon. “C’mon, let’s get out of here, now.” She pulled Patterson and Tasha again, and both started taking backwards steps towards the door, when Liz licked her lips and stared predatorily at Patterson.

“Hey blondie, you should ditch this short little tosser and your stiff friend and come back”, she said, referring to Tasha and Jane. “I’ll rough you up nice and proper”, she said, then blew Patterson an air kiss.

That was all Tasha could take. She broke from Jane’s grasp and clocked Liz right in the nose. Liz went down, cursing. Powell stared at Liz for a moment and then turned back to Jane, Tasha and Patterson. “You motherfuckers!” she cursed. “Colleen!” she yelled, and a moment later Colleen returned with a gun in her right hand and two more in her left.

“Oh, shit”, Jane said as she started for the door. "Let's go!"

Patterson’s eyes went wide and then she grabbed Tasha’s arm. “Run!” she screamed, and the three of them bolted out the door as gunshots rang out behind them.


	5. Chapter 5

“That’s gunfire”, Reade said, looking at Weller. The two of them were sitting in the suburban, monitoring Jane, Tasha and Patterson via audio. They couldn’t exactly tell what was happening in the bar without visual, but for the last few minutes it sounded like the situation had been deteriorating. Tasha seemed to be in some kind of personal spat with Liz, then Powell started questioning what the women were doing in the bar, and then they heard Patterson yelp in pain, and then it sounded like things had spiraled downhill from there. They had been hoping for their teammates to walk out before things went south, but no such luck.

“Let’s move!” Weller barked, and he and Reade exited the suburban, guns drawn. They hit the sidewalk and had taken about five steps when they saw Jane, Tasha and Patterson burst out of the front door and head their way, panic on their faces.

“Weller!” Jane shouted. A moment later Liz, Powell and Colleen exited the front door, guns blazing.

“Take cover!” Weller shouted to Jane, Tasha and Patterson, and motioned for them to dive behind some parked cars, as he and Reade laid down some cover fire.

“Shite!” Liz swore as she saw Weller and Reade advancing towards them, guns firing.

“Goddamit!” Powell yelled as she squeezed off rounds. “Feds! I fucking knew it!”

“Get to the car!” Reade yelled at Tasha, Jane, and Patterson, as he continued to fire. Tasha, Jane, and Patterson inched along the ground towards the van.

“Fuck you, coppers!” Liz yelled, continuing to fire. 

Powell fired a few more shots and then started to back up. “C’mon, let’s go!” she yelled at Liz and Colleen. Liz fired one more shot and then backed up, and the three of them retreated into the bar.

“They’re heading back into the bar! Reade - with me!” Weller yelled, then yelled for Jane, Tasha and Patterson. “Get to the car, grab your guns and vests and then follow us!” Weller and Reade reached the front door to Molly’s. Weller counted to three and then nodded, and he and Reade busted in the door. Nothing. Weller scanned the room for a moment and then heard a car start out back. He looked at Reade, and the two of them ran to the back door. They stalled cautiously for a moment and then ran outside, just in time to see Liz, Powell and Colleen drive away. Weller took a few shots, trying to hit a tire, but missed. “Dammit!” he swore, while Reade closed his eyes and cursed under his breath.

 

********

 

Jane, Tasha and Patterson entered the bar a few moments later, just as Weller and Reade were coming back in.

“They’re gone”, Weller said. He looked at the three women and then asked, “What the hell happened in here?”

“Uh…Powell started asking questions, and um-“, Patterson said, but Weller cut her off.

“No”, Weller said, then looked right at Tasha. “What happened between you and Wells?”

“She hurt Patterson”, Tasha said.

“Tash!” Patterson said. Weller looked over. It was the second time today Patterson had called Tasha “Tash”.

“She grabbed you by the arm”, Tasha said to Patterson.

“I was fine”, Patterson said.

“No you weren’t!” Tasha said back.

“Stop!” Weller said, glaring at Patterson and then Tasha. He stared at Tasha, who stared back but didn’t say anything. The truth was, she had let things get personal. She shouldn’t have, but Liz had been lewdly eyeing Patterson, and then had grabbed her, and then had threatened her, and she hadn’t been able to control herself. Weller stared at Tasha for another moment and then addressed the three women. “Your guys’ objective was to come in here, find out if Wells and Powell were both here, find out if there was anyone else here, and then come back out”, Weller said. “If you guys had done that, we could have netted them both. There’s no one else here. It would have been an easy bust.” He glared again at the three women, especially Tasha, and then said, “Alright, let’s get back to base.”

 

********

 

As soon as the team arrived back to the office, Weller ordered Tasha into his office. The two of them walked in and Weller slammed the door.

“Well the hell happened in there?” Weller said again.

“I told you, Patterson was in trouble”, Tasha said.

“No, she wasn’t”, Weller said. He stared at Tasha, who said nothing, and then said. “Reade and I were monitoring you guys. You had plenty of chances to just walk out, which is what you should have done as soon as you guys saw that it was just Wells, Powell and that woman Colleen in there. I even heard Jane tell you that she was going to collect Patterson so you guys could leave, and then you started confronting Wells. Now, she and Powell are gone, and we have no idea where they are.” He stared at Tasha for another moment, and then said, “It was a simple assignment. What the hell happened?”

“Like I said, Patterson was in troubl-“

“No! Wells only grabbed her after things escalated because you engaged in a pissing match.” Weller stared hard at Tasha and then said, “Is there something going on between you and Patterson?”

“Wait, w-w-what?” Tasha played dumb.

“I saw the way you guys came in this morning. Reade was right. It looked like the two of you had just gotten out of bed. I find it hard to believe it was coincidence that both of you slept in separately, especially Patterson. She’s never late and never misses work. Then, right before we left, you guys got into a small spat in here about Patterson going out into the field, and then you guys continued it in the car on the way over to Molly’s. You’ve been glancing at each other all day. And then, in the bar, while you’re supposed to be undercover, professional, you get worked up because Liz is all over Patterson, and then you get into a pissing match, which pretty much blew the whole thing.” He stared at Tasha and then said “Talk to me, straight.”

Tasha stared back at Weller and then dropped her gaze. He was right. Tasha had let it become personal. She should have kept her cool and had Jane politely collect Patterson from Liz. Then they could have walked out of the bar, regrouped with Weller and Reade, grabbed their weapons, then headed back in the bar armed, and taken down Liz, Powell and Colleen. It would have been a straightforward bust. But instead she had gotten heated. She saw the way Liz had been looking at Patterson and the way she had grabbed Patterson’s arm and had escorted her to the bar, and she had gotten jealous, and then when Liz had put her arm around Patterson she had gotten upset. Then when Liz had threatened to rough Patterson up, she had lost it. That would have never happened if I didn’t have feelings for Patterson, Tasha thought. She exhaled a deep breath, looked at Weller and started talking.

“Patterson and I…got together this weekend”, she said.

“What do you mean, got together’?” Weller asked.

“You know, we…” Tasha let it hang.

“Okay, wait, what?” Weller asked. Even though he had a hunch something was going on, he was still surprised to hear it from Tasha’s mouth.

“No, wait – not like that. Well, kind of. I mean, we didn’t… it wasn’t planned. At all. But we spent the whole weekend together”, Tasha continued. “Look – I don’t know what’s happening between me and Patterson, and I’m sorry I botched the surveillance operation, but…I couldn’t take seeing that scumbag threaten Patterson or put her hands on her.” She paused, exhaled again, then looked at Weller and said, “I’m sorry.”

Weller stared at her, trying to figure out what to say. He wanted to admonish her, for engaging in unprofessional behavior and for blowing the operation, but he also knew how it felt, to feel something personal for someone you work with. He looked at Tasha for another moment and then said, “Look, we can’t let personal feelings get in the way of our job.”

“I know”, Tasha said. She wanted to bring up Weller’s feelings for Jane, but she felt bad about blowing the operation, so she held it in. “And it won’t happen again. But, Patterson doesn’t belong in the field.”

“We needed as many eyes as possible in that bar, especially since Reade and I couldn’t go in.”

“I know, and I understand that for the situation this morning, but she’s not a field agent. She doesn’t belong out there”, Tasha said, and then thought, I don’t want to have to worry about her when we’re out there, not just professionally, but personally.

“That’s not your call to make”, Weller said.

“Weller, this Liz Wells woman is bad news. I saw the way she looked at Patterson, the way she treated her. She’s a predator. If we encounter her again, and she somehow gets a hold of Patterson…” 

Weller stared at Tasha for a moment and then said, “Look, I understand Patterson’s not as field trained as the rest of us. I’ll take it under advisement. But right now, the most important thing is to find Wells and Powell and stop them. Whatever you've got going on with Patterson is secondary. Understand?” Tasha nodded, and then he said, “Alright, let’s get on it”, and the two of them exited Weller's office for Patterson’s lab.


	6. Chapter 6

Tasha and Weller entered Patterson’s lab. Patterson, Reade and Jane were already there. Patterson looked at Weller and then at Tasha. She was pretty sure she knew what they had been talking about, and she didn’t like the idea of Weller scolding Tasha for protecting her, even if Tasha had kind of escalated the situation, but she kept a professional face.

“We need to find out where Wells and Powell are as soon as possible”, Weller said. “Jane and I will go to the UN and have a look around to see if we can figure out the most likely point of attack. You three”, Weller said, pointing to Reade, Patterson and Tasha, “see what you can find on this Colleen woman. Also, if Wells and Powell are going to attack, then they’ll need an escape plan. I want all likely options”, he said, then he and Jane left. Reade took a computer about ten feet away. Tasha took the computer next to Patterson’s.

“So, what happened with Weller?” Patterson asked as she started in on research.

“He basically scolded me for botching things at the operation, and he told me not to let my personal feelings interfere with work”, Tasha said as she started in herself.

“Tash…” Patterson said. She stopped working and looked at Tasha.

“I let it get personal”, Tasha said. She stopped working as well, then turned towards Patterson, exhaled and said, “I just…I just couldn’t take the way that Liz woman was acting towards you.” She looked right at Patterson. “Look, I know you keep saying you’re fine out there, but if anything were to happen to you, especially with that woman…”

“I know, Tash”, Patterson said. “And look – I know it’s dangerous out there, and I know that I’m not as field trained as the rest of you, but I just, you know – I just don’t want you to look at me like I’m a burden out there.”

“Patterso-”

“But, more importantly…I want to be there, because I don’t want anything to happen to you and me not be there. Look, I know that sounds stupid, because you’re the field agent, and it’s not like you need me to take care of you, but still, I just can’t help the way I feel”, Patterson. She looked at Tasha and smiled slightly.

“I know. And I get it. I feel the same way towards you, but the bottom line is…I’m more trained for the field”, Tasha said. She looked at Patterson and then said, “You’re safer in here, my little gnome.”

Patterson looked at Tasha for a moment, then leaned in. “I know…but I still can't help wanting to be out there with you”, she said, then smiled shyly. She looked over at Reade, who was nose deep in his own research, and then planted a quick kiss on Tasha’s cheek, near her lips. Tash turned her head slightly and kissed her back. The two women stared at each other for a moment, smiling, and then Tasha looked at Patterson’s computer screen. “Uh, yeah…right, I guess we should get back to work”, Patterson said, turning back to her computer. “Look for possible escape plans, my little rogue”, she said, lightly bumping her hip to Tasha’s. Tasha smiled and started looking, and then Patterson said, “Wait, what’s this?”

“What’s what?” Tasha asked.

“The delegates are arriving today. Like, now. They’re staying at the Hilton Garden Hotel, right near the UN building”, Patterson said, as the kept scanning her computer. “There’s a dinner tonight at the hotel.”  
“I got something”, Reade said a minute later. He turned around to Patterson and Tasha, and noticed were standing unusually close together.

“So do we”, Patterson said, and Reade noticed that Patterson said ‘we’ and not ‘I’. “Let’s call Weller”, she said, then dialed, putting Weller and Jane on speaker.

“The Colleen woman at the bar is Colleen O’Malley”, Reade said. “She’s an Irish ex-pat, owns the bar and a couple of other small businesses in town. No record, but it looks like she goes back a ways with the Wells family. Her uncle served in the IRA with Wells’ father.”

“Family ties”, Weller said.

“Yep. Anyway, it’s possible she uses her businesses to front illegal activity. Gambling, money laundering, arms dealing.”

“Alright, find out where she is, and look up all known associates”, Weller said. “I want to shake this down now.”

“Got something else”, said Patterson, who had continued working while Reade was talking. No one can multitask like Patterson, Tasha thought. The vast amount of work she can perform and information she can process is amazing. Tasha smiled slightly in admiration as Patterson spoke. “Now, we all know the UN summit is tomorrow, but the delegates are actually arriving this afternoon, as we speak. There is a dinner tonight at the Hilton Garden, near the UN building.”

“Sounds like a possibility for an attack”, Weller said.

“I’d say a good one”, Patterson said. “I just started checking logistics for this dinner, and this just popped up: the catering company is Clover Catering, based right in New York City. Owned by a Sean O’Malley”, Patterson said. “He’s Colleen O’Malley’s brother.”

“Family ties”, Weller said again.

“Can somebody say, ‘bomb in the corn beef and cabbage’?” Jane said.

“Definite possibility for an attack”, Weller said. “Okay, Jane and I will head over to the Hilton now. Tasha and Reade – meet us there. Patterson – stay there, and find out anything else you can on the O’Malley’s, a location on Wells and Powell, and what their escape route is.”

“Weller, I can go mobile”, Patterson said. 

“No. Stay there. We need you on comms”, Weller said. He had considered what Tasha had said, and concluded that if Patterson was not absolutely needed tin the field then she shouldn’t be in it. “Keep us posted”, he said, then hung up.

“Alright, let’s go”, Reade said to Tasha, turning to leave.

Patterson looked at Reade, then looked at Tasha. Tasha looked down, and in an instant Patterson knew that Tasha had asked Weller to keep her out of the field.

Tasha looked at Reade and said, “Give us a minute.” Reade stared back at her, and Tasha said, “Reade, please.”

Reade stared at her for a moment and then said, “One minute”, and then left for the car.

“Patterso-”, Tasha began, but Patterson cut her off.

“Did you tell Weller to keep me out of the field?” Patterson said.

Tasha came up close and put her hands on Patterson’s arms. “Yes. I did.”

“Tash”, Patterson said, pulling away a bit and crossing her arms.

“Patterson, we just talked about this. Look, that Liz woman is a frickin’ animal. I saw the way she looked at you earlier, how she grabbed you. Now, if she’s there at the hotel, and if she got her hands on you-“

“I can ta-“ Patterson was about to say out of reflex, “I can take care of myself”, but then stopped. She knew Tasha was right. If it wasn’t absolutely essential for her to be in the field, then she should stay in the office. But still, the thought of something happening to Tasha and her not being there made her worry. Plus, she had to admit, she felt a bit put out that Tasha thought she couldn’t handle herself in the field, even though she knew it was true that she didn’t have the field experience that the others had. It’s silly, Patterson thought, but I just can’t help the way I feel. Apparently Tasha isn’t the only one who is letting personal feelings enter our work, she continued thinking.

Tasha stared at Patterson for a moment and then put her hands on Patterson’s arms again. “Look, I know you can take care of yourself. I know”, she said, then paused and moved a little closer. “But I just don’t want you to have to feel like you have to take care of me as well. You have enough to do”, she said with a slight smile, looking right at Patterson.

Patterson stared at Tasha. She knew that was a line. She knew that the real reason Tasha didn’t want her in the field was that Tasha worried about her and didn’t want anything bad to happen to her. And, as much as Patterson hated being made to feel like a liability, she knew that the chance of something bad happening in the field increased for those with less field experience. For a brief moment she thought about how much had happened in the last three days, and how she had never thought so much before about something bad happening to Tasha. Then she turned her attention back to the beautiful brunette in front of her. She sighed and then moved closer to Tasha. “Fine. I’ll stay here, so I don’t have to look out after you”, she said back with a slight smile.

“Thank you”, Tasha said, almost in a whisper. Then her hands slid down Patterson’s arms and grabbed her hands.

“But you be careful out there, please”, Patterson said, looking at Tasha with big blue eyes.

“I will”, Tasha said. She stared back for a moment and then leaned in and planted a solid kiss onto Patterson’s lips.

Patterson melted into the kiss, and the two women stood there, lips locked in Patterson’s lab. Then Patterson broke the kiss and looked into Tasha’s eyes. “Go get ‘em”, she said. Tasha smiled a slight smile and then gave Patterson one last kiss, and then she ran out of the office to catch up with Reade.  
 

********  
 

Tasha and Reade sped over to the hotel. As he drove, Reade eyed Tasha. Something was going on with her. He thought he knew what it was but wanted to ask. “Hey – everything alright?”

Tasha looked over. “Yeah, why?”

“You seem…off today.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“I saw you talking with Weller in his office when we got back from Molly’s”, Reade said. “And then, the way you’ve been acting with Patte-“

“Reade – I’m fine. We’re fine”, Tasha said again.

Reade paused for a moment and then said, “Okay” and let it go. They pulled up to the hotel a few minutes later. Weller and Jane were waiting for them outside. They went through the main entrance and into the large, ornate lobby. Weller spotted the concierge desk and went over and flashed his badge. “Where is the UN summit dinner for the Irish and English delegates?”

“The Rose Ballroom, third floor”, the concierge said. Weller thanked the concierge and was just about to lead the team to the ballroom when another man nearby who was dressed in a hotel employee uniform said, “The caterers will be stationed down the hall from the ballroom in an empty conference room.”

“Thanks”, Weller said, then turned to the team. “Alright, let’s move”, he said, and the team took the stairs. As they got to the third floor Weller said, “Let’s split up. Reade, Tasha – check out the catering area. Jane and I will check out the ballroom.” The team split up, oblivious to the fact that the hotel employee who they had just talked with had pulled out his phone and sent a text to their quarry, who was four floors above.  
 

********  
 

Tasha and Reade entered the room where the catering was supposed to be setting up.

“There’s no one here”, Reade said.

“Let’s go find Weller and Jane”, Tasha said and turned to leave, when she felt a hard, blunt object strike her on the back of the head, and then her world went black.

   
********  
 

Weller and Jane swept the ballroom. The guests were already starting to filter in.

“Nothing”, Weller said, as he reconnoitered with Jane at the ballroom entrance. 

“Me either”, Jane said.

Weller spoke into his comm mic. “Reade, Tasha”, he said. No answer. “Reade, Tasha, come in”, he said. No answer again. He looked at Jane, who looked back at him.

“Something’s wrong”, he said. “Let’s move.” He and Jane headed out of the ballroom and down the hall to the conference room. They entered, guns drawn, and froze. Laying on the ground was Reade. He was tied up, hands behind his back, duct tape over his mouth.

“Reade!” Weller yelled. He approached Reade and took the duct tape off. Reade coughed. “What happened?”

“They ambushed us”, Reade choked out. “They got Tasha.”

Back at HQ, Patterson was listening to the whole thing. “Oh my God,”, she said, as her face went white as a ghost.


	7. Chapter 7

“What’s happening?” Patterson asked through the comm mic, alarm in her voice.

“They took Tasha”, Weller said.

“Where is she?”

“We’re trying to find out. Stand by”, Weller said to Patterson, then tuned to Reade. “Where’d they take her?”

“I don’t know”, Reade said. “All I remember is entering this room, then taking a blow to the head and blacking out, and then you guys showed up.”

“Shit”, Weller said.

“Where is she?” Patterson came again, panic in her voice.

“We’re working on it”, Weller said.

“Please…” Patterson said in a pleading voice.

“We’ll find her, Patterson”, Weller said. He looked around the room and then was about to lead the team out when the comm mics went off.

“Tasha?” Weller said.

“Hello, coppers”, a woman’s voice with an Irish accent replied. Weller looked at Jane and Reade. Liz Wells.

“Wells?” Reade growled.

“There’s a door at the back of the conference room. Go out it and down one flight of stairs. It will take you to the room directly below the ballroom”, Liz said, then the radio went dead.

Weller untied Reade and then looked at the team. “Let’s move”, he said. They cautiously approached the door at the back of the room, then went down the flight of stairs. They opened another door and went through, and ended up in another empty room. They went in, guns drawn, and froze. In the room were Liz, Powell, Colleen and Tasha. Powell and Colleen were armed with machine guns. They were pointing them right at Tasha. Liz was holding Tasha, who was wearing a leather bondage style vest, arms bound behind her, to which was connected an explosive contraption with a timer. She had a ball gag in her mouth, and it looked like wires were connected to the gag and running down to the bomb. Liz was behind her, holding her from behind with one hand, a wicked-looking knife on the other.

“Wells!” Weller yelled.

“Like this contraption? It’s sexy, huh? I especially like the gag”, Liz said, running her finger over the ball. “It’s a nice touch, especially since I don’t like the way this one runs her mouth”. She paused and then said, “You know, I’m glad you guys showed up. I wasn’t quite sure where I was going to stash this bomb, but now, I have the perfect place.”

“Let her go”, Weller said.

“Nah, I don’t think so”, Liz said. Then she put her mouth near Tasha’s ear, “By the way, you hit me nice and proper earlier. I owe you one”, she said, and with that, she drew her knife down Tasha’s arm, opening up a nasty cut. Tasha screamed through the ball gag. “Don’t scream too loud, love. If you move your mouth too much the bomb will go off”, she taunted.

“Stop!” Reade yelled.

“Oh my God, what’s happening?” Patterson yelled into her comm mic.

“You like that?” Liz taunted Tasha who had tears in her eyes, gritting through pain.

“Let her go!” Weller yelled again at Liz, ignoring Patterson in his earpiece. “Drop your weapons now!”

“Ha!” Liz yelled. “You shoot us, we shoot her. Even if you get me, one of us will get her. And even if you get all three of us, she’ll die.” She paused and then asked, “Are you willing to risk her life, you bumbling FBI alpha male wanker?”

“Shit”, Weller swore under his breath. He knew Liz was right. They may be able to prevail in a firefight, but Tasha would be killed. He couldn’t risk it.

“Look, you don’t have to do this”, Jane said to Liz. “They’re here to talk peace. You’re going to get what you want. There’s no need to set off a bomb and kill everyone."

“But that’s what I want”, Liz said. “I want all of these motherfuckers to die. There will be no peace until all of these tossers are dead!”

“If you kill anyone, you will die”, Weller said again. “Let her go, put down your weapons, and you’ll walk out of here alive.”

Liz laughed. “I’m walking out alive anyway. You’ve got fifteen minutes. Maybe you can evacuate the building by then. Maybe you’ll even be able to save this one here too, although I doubt it. But regardless, we’ll be long gone, sailing away into the distance.”

“Last chance”, Weller said. “Let her go and put down your weapons.”

“C’mon, let’s go!” Powell said to Liz. They needed to get moving. The original plan had been for her to sell Liz the bomb, then Liz was going to carry out the bombing and then disappear somewhere, while Powell would carry on being an arms dealer. It should have been business as usual. However, now that the feds were on them she had to disappear too. “We need to move now!”

Liz glanced at Powell. They did need to move, but she wasn’t done taunting the FBI yet, especially this little shit she had in her grasp. She decided to throw a parting shot. “You know, its’ too bad your cute little blonde girlfriend isn’t here. Guess she’s not suited for field work huh? I can see that. She was all nerves when I was grabbing up on her”, Liz said with a smile, and Tasha growled through the gag. “You know, I wouldn’t mind having another go at her. Maybe I’ll pay her a visit in the future after this all blows over. Beat her proper as I take her for a real rough ride. Think she’d like that?” Liz laughed, as Tasha growled again.

“For the last time, let her go!” Weller yelled.

“C’mon, let’s move!” Powell yelled again.

Liz looked over at Powell again, then back at Weller, Reade and Jane. She sheathed her knife and pulled out her gun. “Well, I guess we’d better be off”, she said, then put her mouth to Tasha’s ear. “I’ll see your girlfriend at your funeral”, she said, then gave Tasha a kiss on the cheek. Tasha squirmed, and then Liz pushed a button on the timer panel on Tasha’s vest and then backed off, gun pointed at Tasha. Then she, Powell and Colleen backed out of the door behind them. As soon as they left, Reade ran up to Tasha.

“Wait, don’t touch her!” Weller said. He came up and inspected the rig. “I can’t get a handle on this”, he said.

“What’s going on?” Patterson came again through the comm mics.

“Liz wired Tasha to an explosive rig”, Weller said. “I can’t figure it out.”

“Oh my God”, Patterson said. She started breathing faster.

“Patterson, calm down”, Jane said. She could hear Patterson breathing. “Just, take it easy, and walk us through this.”

“Okay, okay, okay”, Patterson said, calming down. Reade pulled out his phone and activated an FBI app to give Patterson access to his camera. Patterson looked for a moment and then said, “I can’t tell from here.”

“What?” Weller said

“I can’t tell from here. I need to be there to disarm it.”

Weller thought for a moment, then said, “Alright. I’ll have the chopper take you over here. You’re five minutes away. Reade will meet you on the roof. Jane and I will start clearing the building. We’ve got fourteen minutes starting now until this bomb goes off.” 

   
********  
 

Patterson arrived eight minutes later. Reade met her on the roof, escorted her to the room where Tasha was, and then left to help Weller and Jane clear the building.

“Baby, look at me”, Patterson said. “We’re going to disarm this, okay?”

Tasha mumbled through the gag and nodded. She also noted that Patterson had called her “baby”.

“Okay, just hold still”, Patterson said, studying the rig. “IC8 explosive, timer detonator…this will destroy the entire floor, as well as the floor above it and below it”, she said. She looked for another moment and then said, “Okay, I think I got it. This is rigged with sequential wiring. As long as I disable the wires in the correct order the bomb should be neutralized.” She looked at Tasha and said, “We’re going to start with the gag first.” She took out her wire cutters and cut the wire on the left first, then the wire on the right, then she reached around and removed the ball gag from Tasha’s mouth. Tasha gasped, and Patterson cupped her cheeks and planted a kiss on her lips.

“Baby”, Tasha said, repeating what Patterson had called her.

“It’s okay, baby”, Patterson said, then looked at the timer. Six minutes left. “Just, hold still”, she said, then started cutting wires. She got through about half of them, when the next one she pulled made the timer speed up double.

“Oh no”, Patterson said.

“What?”

“The timer…just sped up double.

“Oh my God”, Tasha said.

“Okay, okay”, Patterson said, taking a couple deep breaths. She looked at Tasha, who looked defeated, and said, “Hey – I’m a gnome cleric, remember? I’ll cast a spell that will get us out of this”, she said, and smiled slightly at Tasha. Tasha, despite herself, smiled slightly back, and then Patterson said, “I won’t let my little rogue thief go.” Then she leaned in and gave Tasha a quick kiss, and then went back to studying the wires. She pulled a few more and then looked at the timer. Two minutes.

“Okay, there’s only four wires left, but the sequence now isn’t as obvious”, Patterson said. She exhaled and then looked at Tasha. “Ready?”

Tasha nodded nervously and then gave Patterson a kiss. “Good luck, my brave little gnome cleric”, she said.

Patterson smiled slightly and then pulled the first wire, but as she pulled the second, the timer started counting down in increments of ten seconds.

“Oh my God”, Patterson said.

“Baby – it’s just two more wires”, Tasha said. “You can do this.”

“Okay, here we go”, Patterson said. She took one last look at the wires and then pulled the second to last one. The timer continued to count down in increments of ten seconds. She pulled the last wire as they were two seconds from detonation.

“Oh my God”, Patterson said and exhaled.

“Baby, you did it”, Tasha breathed out. Patterson helped her out of the vest and then wrapped her in a tight hug.

“Thank you for saving me, my brave gnome cleric”, Tasha said, tears welling up in her eyes. She held Patterson in a tight embrace, then cupped Patterson’s face and planted a long kiss on her lips.

“I told, you, I would never let my beautiful brave rogue thief go”, Patterson said, as tears welled up in her eyes as well.


	8. Chapter 8

Patterson radioed Weller to tell him that she and Tasha were alright, then helped Tasha to her feet and escorted her out of the building. When they exited the hotel the street was teaming with people. Weller, Jane and Reade were waiting for them. Weller had Tasha checked out by the paramedics, and then assembled the group. “We need to find out where Liz and Powell went”, he said.

“I think I know”, Patterson said. “While you guys were here I looked into possible escape routes. There’s a cargo ship called The Shamrock that’s owned by a shipping company based out of Belfast. It leaving New York Port for Belfast in an hour. Guess who one of the shipping company’s customers is?”

“Colleen”, Weller said.

“Liz did say they would be ‘sailing away into the distance’”, Jane remembered.

“Yeah, I heard her say that over the comms”, Patterson said.

“We need to get going”, Weller said. “We can call the Harbor Master on the way over.” Then he looked at Tasha. “You okay?”

“I’ll be fine”, Tasha nodded, looking at her bandaged arm. It still stung from the knife wound from Liz, but it wasn’t debilitating.

“Okay”, Weller nodded back, then looked at the group. “Let’s move.”

“Wait”, Patterson said. “All of us? Like, me too?”

Weller looked at Patterson for a moment and then said, “Yes. You too. We may need help if we encounter another bomb”, he said, then smiled slightly. “Nice work, Patterson”, he said. Patterson smiled slightly back, and Tasha looked at Patterson. She’s amazing, Tasha thought. She wanted to reach out and wrap Patterson up in her arms, but now was not the time. The group piled into the suburban and pulled up to the harbor twenty minutes later.

“There’s The Shamrock”, Tasha said, pointing to the right. A few men were walking the deck. Weller parked the suburban behind a group of shipping containers, and the group crept their way behind the containers towards the ship. They were about two hundred feet away when they saw Powell and Colleen loading a crate up the walkway onto the ship. A moment later, they saw Liz stride up the walkway as well.

“We gotta move, now”, Weller said. He checked his weapon. “Everybody ready?” Everyone nodded, and then he looked around the group, eyes settling on Patterson. “Be careful”, he said, then nodded and rose to a standing position. “Freeze!” he yelled, as he and the team popped out from behind a shipping container.

“Shite!” Liz swore, then opened fire. Powell and Colleen dropped the crate they were carrying and opened fire as well, scrambling up the rest of the walkway. Then the men on the deck opened fire as well, as Weller and the team scrambled towards the ship, firing back. Three of the men went down. Tasha reached the walkway first and started up.

“Tasha, wait!” Weller yelled, but Tasha was already halfway up. “Shit!” he swore, then started up after her. “Cover us!” he yelled to Reade, Jane and Patterson. He reached the top of the walkway, pivoted and saw Colleen. She squeezed of three rounds just after Weller was able to duck behind a column. He returned fire, hitting Colleen twice in the chest. She went down, and Reade walked over to her and kicked her weapon away from her. Then he bent down and checked her neck pulse, as he heard Jane, Reade and Patterson reach the top of the walkway. “She’s gone”, he said, then turned to Reade. “Check the rest of the ship. Patterson – stick close to Reade.” Then he turned to Jane. “Let’s find Tasha.”

Tasha was moving towards the aft deck when she heard commotion. She whipped around a corner. Two men were coming towards her. She fired four times and put them both down, then flinched as a bullet pinged a pipe just above her head. She whirled around and saw Powell duck behind a pole. “Shit!” she swore and headed in Powell’s direction. Powell headed towards the port side of the ship when she saw Reade and Patterson coming towards her. She raised her gun and fired, missing both but sending bullets between them. Reade scrambled left as Patterson scrambled right.

“Patterson!” Reade yelled. “Go! I’ll hold her off!” Reade returned fire, driving Powell back. Powell retreated, fired two bullets, and then turned around, and ran right into the butt of Tasha’s gun. She went up, like a jester slipping on a banana peel, and then fell back down, head hitting the deck hard. Tasha rolled Powell over onto her stomach and slapped on the cuffs as Reade ran up, then she hauled Powell up and handed her to Reade. “Take her. I’m going after Wells”, she said, and Reade nodded.  
Patterson was still running as Reade had instructed, but she slowed her pace as she approached a corner. She paused, then rounded the corner, leading with her gun, and ended up in a hallway. The coast was clear. She walked a bit further down the hallway, then heard a noise from behind her. She whirled around. Nothing. She exhaled, relieved, then turned back around, and found herself face to face with Liz.

“Hello Blondie”, Liz said with a smile. Patterson gasped, then went to yell, but Liz put her hand over Patterson’s mouth and then kneed Patterson hard in the stomach. Patterson doubled over, and then Liz grabbed Patterson’s hair, yanked her head back, and slapped Patterson hard in the face. Patterson went down limp, and then Liz picked Patterson up from behind and hauled her down the hallway. She pushed Patterson through a doorway and out onto the starboard rear deck. “Ahhhh…lovely, isn’t it?” Liz said, smiling. “Fresh sea air, warm breeze. Perfect day for a swim, don’t you think?”

“No, please…” Patterson whimpered.

“Don’t worry love, you’re right at shore. You’re probably survive the drop”, Liz said, then pressed her lips to Patterson’s ear. “You’d better. I want to pay you a visit in the future, after I kill your bitchy little girlfriend”, she said, then smiled and licked Patterson’s neck. Patterson squirmed, and Liz bit her neck. She held on for a couple seconds as Patterson squealed. “Something to remember me by, until next time. Now, off you go”, she said, and moved to throw Patterson overboard when she was hit very hard in the side of the head by an incoming Tasha. Liz screamed and let go of Patterson, and then Tasha kicked Liz in the side, sending Liz sprawling.

“Tash!” Patterson said.

“Go find Weller and the others!” Tasha said. Patterson stared at Tasha, not wanting to leave her. “Go baby, now!” Tasha yelled. Patterson stared for another moment and then ran off.

“C’mon, copper”, Liz said as she got to her feet. “Let’s see what you got.” She charged Tasha and threw a roundhouse blow, but Tasha ducked it and drilled Liz with a solid punch to the gut. Liz doubled over, and Tasha followed up with a knee to Liz’s face. Liz went down to one knee, and Tasha went to grab her, but Liz lunged at Tasha, putting her on the ground, then landed three solid blows on Tasha’s face. Tasha went to claw Liz’s eyes, but missed, grabbing Liz’s ear instead. Liz yelped in pain as Tasha tore part of the cartilage, but then grabbed Tasha’s neck with both hands. Tasha squirmed, feeling her breath go short, as blackness started to creep in around her periphery. “There you go”, Liz hissed. “I’m going to strangle you, and then I’m going to strangle your little blonde girlfriend as I fuck the shite out of her.”

“Noooo…!” Tasha gritted out, then grabbed Liz’s wrists. She couldn’t break the hold, Liz was too strong, but she was able to maneuver Liz into her guard. She brought a knee up into Liz’s chin, and then grabbed Liz’s left wrist with both hands, and putting her right leg under Liz’s chin, leveraged Liz onto her back and into a painful arm lock. Liz screamed as Tasha applied pressure, snapping Liz’s arm at the joint. 

“Tasha!” Weller yelled, as he, Jane, Reade and Patterson approached.

Tasha got to her knees, flipped Liz over onto her stomach, and put her knee on Liz’s back. “No one threatens my little gnome cleric”, she said to Liz, as she slapped a pair of handcuffs onto Liz’s wrists. Weller, Jane and Reade looked at her and then at each other, and Patterson, while still reeling from her encounter with Liz, managed the tiniest of smiles.


	9. Chapter 9

“Babe! Gimme the carton!” Patterson said, giggling. She tried to grab the carton of Pad Thai out of Tasha’s hand but missed and landed over Tasha’s lap. Tasha laughed, then took a chopstickful of noodles and fed them to Patterson. Patterson chewed, smiled, and then kissed Tasha lightly on the lips. Tasha put the Pad Thai carton down on the coffee table and wrapped Patterson in her arms, Patterson’s head resting on her chest. They were at Patterson’s, the day after the Liz and Powell job. They had talked about going out for dinner, since Patterson wanted to take Tasha out for saving her from Liz’s clutches, and Tasha wanted to take Patterson out for saving her from Liz’s bomb, but given everything that had happened, they had settled on just staying in and spending the evening together on the couch.

“This is a nice date night”, Patterson said, head resting on Tasha’s chest.

Tasha looked down, smiled, and kissed the top of Patterson’s head. “Does that mean we’re dating?” she asked.

Patterson raised her head and looked at Tasha with big blue eyes. “Um…”

Tasha looked back at Patterson and then exhaled. “Yeah, I guess we should…”

“Talk, yeah”, Patterson said. “I mean, we were going to talk yesterday, but then…”

“We got summoned by Weller”, Tasha said with a slight smile.

“Speaking of Weller…”

“Yeah, we’re going to have to tell the others.”

“Yep.”

“But I think they pretty much already know”, Tasha said. “I mean, I told Weller that something is going on between us. Reade asked me in the car ride over to the hotel what was going on, and Jane was in the bar, so she got to see firsthand me getting jealous over you.”

“It was cute the way you got jealous over me”, Patterson said, kissing Tasha sweetly, then gazed at her and smiled.

Tasha smiled back and then asked, “So, what do we tell everyone?”

Patterson continued smiling and gazing at Tasha for a moment, then her smile faded and she kissed Tasha right on the lips. “Look, Tash, I –“

“Babe”, Tasha said, interrupting her. “Okay, look, I know you’ve been through a lot, with David and all. And I don’t want you to feel like, you know, any pressure, like you need to rush into something with me, or whatever.” She paused, then smoothed Patterson’s hair with her hand. “But I like you. A lot. And if…if you-“

“I want to”, Patterson said. She stared at Tasha and again thought about how much had happened in the last few days. Then she thought about herself, and then David, and then back to herself. Yes, she thought, it was time to move on. Slowly, but it was time to move on. “I like you too…a lot. And I need to move on”, she said, then paused and continued, “And I want to move on…with you.” She put her hand to Tasha’s face and cupped her cheek.

“And I need to move on, too. And I want to move on, with you”, Tasha said, thinking, as Patterson had been, about how much had happened in the last few days, and how she needed to move on as well. After the death of her partner in the 96th precinct, she had seen a counselor. She had asked the counselor how long it would take to recover, and the counselor had told her that there is no set time. You need to take the time to grieve, and you’ll know when you’re ready to move on. Now, as Tasha gazed into Patterson’s eyes and felt the warmth of her skin pressing against her own, she thought, maybe this is it. Maybe this is what it feels like, to be ready to move on.

“Are you sure?” Patterson asked. “I mean, I want both of us to be ready, to move on. I know you’ve been through a lot too, with your partner, and also with your…gambling…”

“Hey”, Tasha said. She looked into Patterson’s eyes. “The bet that I took, the one that got me to go with you to that silly event?” she said, and thought, the one that got us here. Patterson giggled lightly, and Tasha said, “That’s the last bet I ever intend on taking.”

Patterson looked back into Tasha’s eves, then moved closer and pressed her lips against Tasha’s. Tasha closed her eyes and melted into the kiss, and the two women stayed like that, lip locked on Patterson’s couch. They broke the kiss a moment later, Patterson giggling and Tasha smiling at her.

“What?” Patterson asked.

“Nothing”, Tasha said. “It’s just that…you’re adorable when you giggle.”

“You’re adorable, my beautiful rogue thief”, Patterson said, gazing at Tasha.

“My cute little gnome cleric”, Tasha said back, lightly touching her index finger to Patterson’s nose. Patterson giggled again, and Tasha smiled, then her gaze fell on the Pad Thai container. “So…can I get you some more Pad Thai?” she asked, reaching for the container.

Patterson looked over at the container. “Mmmmm…I _am_ hungry”, she said, then looked back at Tasha. “But not for that.” She took Tasha’s hand off of the container and kept it in her own, then leaned in and planted a serious, big-girl kiss right on Tasha’s lips. Then she pulled back and smiled slightly at Tasha, gazing at her with smoky eyes. Tasha gazed back, and then Patterson got up off the couch, took Tasha’s other hand, guided her to her feet, pressed their lips together, and then escorted Tasha towards her bedroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's pretty much it. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the story!
> 
> Mahalo and fond aloha.


End file.
